GlobeSt.com: Fatigue on housing horizon?

Both locally and nationally, the housing market has bounced out of the recession like a house on fire.

Double digit price gains and other metrics paint a picture of a critical sector in full rebound, even if most markets — Portland included — haven’t seen prices return to pre-recession peaks.

The big question: Can the growth keep going?

Possibly not.

GlobeSt.com reports signs of fatigue in the housing recovery, citing U.S. Commerce Department figures released last week showing a slowdown in the sales of newly built homes relative to existing ones. It speculates the specter of rising interest rates may “have both helped existing home sales and hindered transactions involving new stock.”

The key quote comes from Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors: “The initial rise in interest rates provided strong incentive for closing deals. However, further rate increases will diminish the pool of eligible buyers.”